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Dr Verity Bennett
Research Associate
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Research Associate in the Children's Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE), interested in multi-agency approaches to safeguarding children and young people from harm. I am interested in developing statistical techniques and decision-making tools for professionals to help identify maltreatment and enable early safeguarding interventions. I also have substantial experience in evaluating existing interventions, specialising in mixed-methods approaches to implementation and process evaluation, and impact analysis.
Current projects include an evaluation of Police in Schools, funded by the Youth Endowment Fund, and an investigation into the feasibility of using police administrative data to evaluate Action for Children’s Serious Organised Crime Early Intervention Service (SOCEIS) via a quasi-experimental design.
Within CASCADE I have previously worked on The Social Workers in Schools (SWIS) Trial, funded by the Department for Education. The SWIS Trial was a large-scale cluster randomised controlled trial across 21 local authorities in England which placed Social Workers in schools to improve how education and Children’s Social Care (CSC) respond to safeguarding concerns. I was also involved in conducting a CASE analysis to evaluate the impact of implementing Schwartz Rounds in CSC.
My research in the School of Medicine included a study funded by a Welcome Trust ISSF Cross-Disciplinary Award investigating the feasibility of using cutting edge, unsupervised, big-data, text mining methods to investigate parents’ use of social media to discuss burns first aid. Children’s burns are a leading cause of injury in the under 5s, and can be life changing. However only 1 in 4 children attending the Emergency Department with a burn have received appropriate first aid at home. Potentially harmful ‘traditional’ and often bizarre remedies spread via social circles and parents of young children are increasingly using social media to seek and share parenting advice. This study aimed to understand the potential utility of this, as yet, un-tapped data source to inform and improve online interventions to improve parents first aid for burns. This work was conducted in collaboration with researchers in the School of Computer Science and Informatics.
Previously, I have worked on a wide range of research projects in child health including: community and online behaviour change interventions, identifying child maltreatment in health settings and the use of routine data in understanding healthcare service use by children and young people with cerebral palsy. I have a background in analysing complex quantitative datasets, and enjoy cross-disciplinary and mixed methods working.
Publication
2024
- Wilkins, D., Thompson, S., Jones, R., Bezeczky, Z. and Bennett, V. 2024. Implementing Schwartz Rounds in children’s social care: enablers and barriers. Journal of Social Work (10.1177/14680173241278249)
- Bennett, V., Spasic, I., Filimonov, M., Muralidaran, V., Kemp, A. M., Allen, S. and Watkins, W. J. 2024. Assessing the feasibility of using parents' social media conversations to inform burn first aid interventions: mixed methods study. JMIR Formative Research 8, article number: e48695. (10.2196/48695)
- Schroeder, E. et al. 2024. The cost-effectiveness and cost-consequences of a school-based social worker intervention: a within-trial economic evaluation. [Online]. SSRN. (10.2139/ssrn.4776734)
- Cowley, L. E., Bennett, C. V., Quinn-Scoggins, H. D., Nuttall, D., Wilkins, D. and Kemp, A. M. 2024. Factors influencing clinicians', health visitors' and social workers' professional judgements, decision‐making and multidisciplinary collaboration when safeguarding children with burn injuries: a qualitative study. Child Abuse Review 33(1), article number: e2862. (10.1002/car.2862)
- Sanders, M., Westlake, D., Ellingwood, J., Bancroft, K. and Bennett, V. 2024. Pilot trial protocol: Police in corridors. Youth Endowment Fund Charitable Fund. Available at: https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/funding/who-we-fund/national-police-chiefs-council-2/
- Bennett, V. et al. 2024. Student perspectives on school-based social workers: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Children's Services (10.1108/JCS-04-2023-0021)
2023
- Maxwell, N., Ablitt, J., Bennett, C., Bezeczky, Z. and Nightingale, M. 2023. Serious Organised Crime Early Intervention Service Evaluation. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: CASCADE. Available at: https://cascadewales.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/06/SOCEIS-Evaluation-2023.pdf
- Bennett, C. V., Hollen, L., Wilkins, D., Emond, A. and Kemp, A. 2023. The impact of a clinical prediction tool (BuRN-Tool) for child maltreatment on social care outcomes for children attending hospital with a burn or scald injury. Burns 49(4), pp. 941-950. (10.1016/j.burns.2022.07.014)
- Adara, L. et al. 2023. The Social Workers in Schools Trial: An evaluation of school based social work.. Project Report. Early Intervention Foundation.
2022
- Westlake, D. et al. 2022. The SWIS trial: protocol of a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of school based social work. PLoS ONE 17(6), article number: e0265354. (10.1371/journal.pone.0265354)
2021
- Wilkins, D., Thompson, S., Bezeczky, Z., Daher, S., Bennett, V., Jones, R. and Clayton, V. 2021. A randomised controlled trial of Schwartz Rounds: An intervention to reduce psychological distress for staff in children's services. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/research-report/a-randomised-controlled-trial-of-schwartz-rounds/
- Wilkins, D., Thompson, S., Bezeczky, Z., Daher, S., Bennett, V., Jones, R. and Clayton, V. 2021. A randomised controlled trial of Schwartz Rounds: an intervention to reduce psychological distress for staff in Children's Services. Project Report. [Online]. What Work's for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/research-report/a-randomised-controlled-trial-of-schwartz-rounds/
- Cowley, L. E., Bennett, C., Brown, I., Emond, A. and Kemp, A. M. 2021. A mixed-methods process evaluation of SafeTea: A multimedia campaign to prevent hot drink scalds in young children and promote burn first aid. Injury Prevention 27, pp. 419-427. (10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043909)
- Hollen, L., Bennett, V., Nuttall, D., Emond, A. M. and Kemp, A. 2021. Evaluation of the efficacy and impact of a clinical prediction tool to identify maltreatment associated with children’s burns. BMJ Paediatrics Open 5(1), article number: e000796. (10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000796)
- Carter, B., Bennett, C. V., Jones, H., Bethel, J., Perra, O., Wang, T. and Kemp, A. 2021. Healthcare use by children and young adults with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 63(1), pp. 75-80. (10.1111/dmcn.14536)
- Glenn, K. et al. 2021. Head computed tomography in suspected physical abuse: time to rethink?. Archives of Disease in Childhood 106(5), pp. 461-466. (10.1136/archdischild-2020-320192)
2020
- Nuttall, D. et al. 2020. Would shared health visitor and emergency department records improve recognition of child maltreatment within the emergency department? A prospective multicentre study. Child Abuse Review 29(6), pp. 518-528. (10.1002/car.2641)
- Hepburn, K. et al. 2020. Burns and Scalds Assessment Template: standardising clinical assessment of childhood burns in the emergency department. Emergency Medicine Journal 37(6), pp. 351-354. (10.1136/emermed-2019-208595)
- Javaid, A. A., Bennett, V., Hollén, L. and Kemp, A. M. 2020. Contact burns: the influence of agents and mechanisms of injury on anatomical burn locations in children <5 years old and associations with child protection referrals. Archives of Disease in Childhood 105, pp. 580-586. (10.1136/archdischild-2019-318140)
- McNulty, C. A. M. et al. 2020. Peer-education as a tool to educate on antibiotics, resistance and use in 16-18-year-olds: a feasibility study. Antibiotics 9(4), article number: 146. (10.3390/antibiotics9040146)
- McNulty, C. A. M., Brown, C. L., Syeda, R. B., Bennett, C. V., Schofield, B., Allison, D. G. and Francis, N. 2020. Teacher and student views on the feasibility of peer to peer education as a model to educate 16-18 year olds on prudent antibiotic use-a qualitative study. Antibiotics 9(4), article number: 194. (10.3390/antibiotics9040194)
- Bennett, C. V., Hollen, L., Quinn-Scoggins, H. D., Emond, A. and Kemp, A. M. 2020. Feasibility of Safe-Tea: A parent targeted intervention to prevent hot drink scalds in pre-school children. Injury Prevention 26(1), pp. 31-41. (10.1136/injuryprev-2018-042921)
2019
- Carter, B., Bennett, C. V., Bethel, J., Jones, H., Wang, T. and Kemp, A. 2019. Identifying cerebral palsy from routinely-collected data in England and Wales. Clinical Epidemiology 2019(11), pp. 457-468. (10.2147/CLEP.S200748)
- Bennett, C. V. et al. 2019. First aid for children's burns in the US and UK: An urgent call to establish and promote international standards. Burns 45(2), pp. 440-449. (10.1016/j.burns.2018.09.003)
2018
- Bennett, C. V., Upchurch, P., Goin, F. J. and Goswami, A. 2018. Deep time diversity of metatherian mammals: implications for evolutionary history and fossil-record quality. Paleobiology 44(2), pp. 171-198. (10.1017/pab.2017.34)
Articles
- Wilkins, D., Thompson, S., Jones, R., Bezeczky, Z. and Bennett, V. 2024. Implementing Schwartz Rounds in children’s social care: enablers and barriers. Journal of Social Work (10.1177/14680173241278249)
- Bennett, V., Spasic, I., Filimonov, M., Muralidaran, V., Kemp, A. M., Allen, S. and Watkins, W. J. 2024. Assessing the feasibility of using parents' social media conversations to inform burn first aid interventions: mixed methods study. JMIR Formative Research 8, article number: e48695. (10.2196/48695)
- Cowley, L. E., Bennett, C. V., Quinn-Scoggins, H. D., Nuttall, D., Wilkins, D. and Kemp, A. M. 2024. Factors influencing clinicians', health visitors' and social workers' professional judgements, decision‐making and multidisciplinary collaboration when safeguarding children with burn injuries: a qualitative study. Child Abuse Review 33(1), article number: e2862. (10.1002/car.2862)
- Bennett, V. et al. 2024. Student perspectives on school-based social workers: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Children's Services (10.1108/JCS-04-2023-0021)
- Bennett, C. V., Hollen, L., Wilkins, D., Emond, A. and Kemp, A. 2023. The impact of a clinical prediction tool (BuRN-Tool) for child maltreatment on social care outcomes for children attending hospital with a burn or scald injury. Burns 49(4), pp. 941-950. (10.1016/j.burns.2022.07.014)
- Westlake, D. et al. 2022. The SWIS trial: protocol of a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of school based social work. PLoS ONE 17(6), article number: e0265354. (10.1371/journal.pone.0265354)
- Cowley, L. E., Bennett, C., Brown, I., Emond, A. and Kemp, A. M. 2021. A mixed-methods process evaluation of SafeTea: A multimedia campaign to prevent hot drink scalds in young children and promote burn first aid. Injury Prevention 27, pp. 419-427. (10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043909)
- Hollen, L., Bennett, V., Nuttall, D., Emond, A. M. and Kemp, A. 2021. Evaluation of the efficacy and impact of a clinical prediction tool to identify maltreatment associated with children’s burns. BMJ Paediatrics Open 5(1), article number: e000796. (10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000796)
- Carter, B., Bennett, C. V., Jones, H., Bethel, J., Perra, O., Wang, T. and Kemp, A. 2021. Healthcare use by children and young adults with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 63(1), pp. 75-80. (10.1111/dmcn.14536)
- Glenn, K. et al. 2021. Head computed tomography in suspected physical abuse: time to rethink?. Archives of Disease in Childhood 106(5), pp. 461-466. (10.1136/archdischild-2020-320192)
- Nuttall, D. et al. 2020. Would shared health visitor and emergency department records improve recognition of child maltreatment within the emergency department? A prospective multicentre study. Child Abuse Review 29(6), pp. 518-528. (10.1002/car.2641)
- Hepburn, K. et al. 2020. Burns and Scalds Assessment Template: standardising clinical assessment of childhood burns in the emergency department. Emergency Medicine Journal 37(6), pp. 351-354. (10.1136/emermed-2019-208595)
- Javaid, A. A., Bennett, V., Hollén, L. and Kemp, A. M. 2020. Contact burns: the influence of agents and mechanisms of injury on anatomical burn locations in children <5 years old and associations with child protection referrals. Archives of Disease in Childhood 105, pp. 580-586. (10.1136/archdischild-2019-318140)
- McNulty, C. A. M. et al. 2020. Peer-education as a tool to educate on antibiotics, resistance and use in 16-18-year-olds: a feasibility study. Antibiotics 9(4), article number: 146. (10.3390/antibiotics9040146)
- McNulty, C. A. M., Brown, C. L., Syeda, R. B., Bennett, C. V., Schofield, B., Allison, D. G. and Francis, N. 2020. Teacher and student views on the feasibility of peer to peer education as a model to educate 16-18 year olds on prudent antibiotic use-a qualitative study. Antibiotics 9(4), article number: 194. (10.3390/antibiotics9040194)
- Bennett, C. V., Hollen, L., Quinn-Scoggins, H. D., Emond, A. and Kemp, A. M. 2020. Feasibility of Safe-Tea: A parent targeted intervention to prevent hot drink scalds in pre-school children. Injury Prevention 26(1), pp. 31-41. (10.1136/injuryprev-2018-042921)
- Carter, B., Bennett, C. V., Bethel, J., Jones, H., Wang, T. and Kemp, A. 2019. Identifying cerebral palsy from routinely-collected data in England and Wales. Clinical Epidemiology 2019(11), pp. 457-468. (10.2147/CLEP.S200748)
- Bennett, C. V. et al. 2019. First aid for children's burns in the US and UK: An urgent call to establish and promote international standards. Burns 45(2), pp. 440-449. (10.1016/j.burns.2018.09.003)
- Bennett, C. V., Upchurch, P., Goin, F. J. and Goswami, A. 2018. Deep time diversity of metatherian mammals: implications for evolutionary history and fossil-record quality. Paleobiology 44(2), pp. 171-198. (10.1017/pab.2017.34)
Monographs
- Sanders, M., Westlake, D., Ellingwood, J., Bancroft, K. and Bennett, V. 2024. Pilot trial protocol: Police in corridors. Youth Endowment Fund Charitable Fund. Available at: https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/funding/who-we-fund/national-police-chiefs-council-2/
- Maxwell, N., Ablitt, J., Bennett, C., Bezeczky, Z. and Nightingale, M. 2023. Serious Organised Crime Early Intervention Service Evaluation. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: CASCADE. Available at: https://cascadewales.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/06/SOCEIS-Evaluation-2023.pdf
- Adara, L. et al. 2023. The Social Workers in Schools Trial: An evaluation of school based social work.. Project Report. Early Intervention Foundation.
- Wilkins, D., Thompson, S., Bezeczky, Z., Daher, S., Bennett, V., Jones, R. and Clayton, V. 2021. A randomised controlled trial of Schwartz Rounds: An intervention to reduce psychological distress for staff in children's services. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/research-report/a-randomised-controlled-trial-of-schwartz-rounds/
- Wilkins, D., Thompson, S., Bezeczky, Z., Daher, S., Bennett, V., Jones, R. and Clayton, V. 2021. A randomised controlled trial of Schwartz Rounds: an intervention to reduce psychological distress for staff in Children's Services. Project Report. [Online]. What Work's for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/research-report/a-randomised-controlled-trial-of-schwartz-rounds/
Websites
- Schroeder, E. et al. 2024. The cost-effectiveness and cost-consequences of a school-based social worker intervention: a within-trial economic evaluation. [Online]. SSRN. (10.2139/ssrn.4776734)
- Bennett, C. V., Hollen, L., Quinn-Scoggins, H. D., Emond, A. and Kemp, A. M. 2020. Feasibility of Safe-Tea: A parent targeted intervention to prevent hot drink scalds in pre-school children. Injury Prevention 26(1), pp. 31-41. (10.1136/injuryprev-2018-042921)
- Carter, B., Bennett, C. V., Bethel, J., Jones, H., Wang, T. and Kemp, A. 2019. Identifying cerebral palsy from routinely-collected data in England and Wales. Clinical Epidemiology 2019(11), pp. 457-468. (10.2147/CLEP.S200748)
- Bennett, C. V. et al. 2019. First aid for children's burns in the US and UK: An urgent call to establish and promote international standards. Burns 45(2), pp. 440-449. (10.1016/j.burns.2018.09.003)
- Bennett, C. V., Upchurch, P., Goin, F. J. and Goswami, A. 2018. Deep time diversity of metatherian mammals: implications for evolutionary history and fossil-record quality. Paleobiology 44(2), pp. 171-198. (10.1017/pab.2017.34)
Teaching
- Social Work Research in Action (Doctor of Social Work and MSc Social Science Research Methods)
- Lectures/seminars on social science research methods
Biography
Education
University College London (2009-2014), PhD Evolutionary Biology
The University of Machester (2007-2008), MSc Biomechanics: Distinction
The Unviersity of Manchester (2004-2007), BSc(Hons) Geography and Geology: First class
Academic positions
2017-present: Research Associate, Cardiff University
2016-2017: Research Assistant, Cardiff University
Contact Details
BennettCV@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 29206 87640
sbarc|spark, Floor 1, Maindy Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
+44 29206 87640
sbarc|spark, Floor 1, Maindy Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
Research themes
Specialisms
- children
- Social work
- Safeguarding
- Injury prevention